The glass is a material that cannot be found in nature or at least not in the form that we are using it. There was some Vulcans that created naturally glass but that is not what we are talking about. The glass is a material that is created by humans for many different purposes. It is just like plastic or paper, it requires a specially designed equipment and ingredients in order to make it. In the manufacturing of glass, you can point out few very important materials that when put together create glass. Of course, mixing these materials together will not make glass. That is because glass making requires a special method and equipment that is responsible for making it.

The first people who made glass didn’t use any of the modern equipment, they only used what they had and that was heat. It was discovered around 5000 BC when people realized that the ingredients formed glass when they were melted together. However, people didn’t start using it practically until 3500 BC, the first things that were made out of glass were vases or pots. Nothing fancy was made up until the start of 20th century when the modern methods and techniques developed.

If you have ever wondered what are the ingredients of glass, now is the time to find out because we have done the research for you and made a list of things that are crucial ingredients of glass. These ingredients are almost the same that the people used 5000 BC when it was first discovered. Some ingredients were added to the mix to make the glass more durable or cleared, but the main ingredients stayed the same.

Ingredients for Glass Making

Sand or Silica. These two materials are the key to glass making without them there would be no glass. Nothing else can replace them and they are from the original recipe from 5000 BC. Silica has an extremely high melting point little over 2000 degrees. Furthermore, silica is used to create different things not just glass.

Sodium Carbonate. This ingredient is added to the mix just for one single purpose and that is to lower the melting point of the Silica to around 1000 degrees. Which instantly lowers the required time for this process to end. However, a bad thing about this ingredient is that it will make the glass dissolvable in water. One thing that you don’t want with glass is to be dissolvable when in contact with water.

Lime or Calcium Oxide. Calcium Oxide is added to the mix just to fix an issue that occurs with adding the Sodium Carbonate. The issue with that ingredient is that makes the glass dissolvable in water. Calcium Oxide is designed to do the opposite thing and make the glass non-dissolvable in water. This ingredient among many others is only used to enhance the properties of the final product.

There are a lot more other ingredients that are used for glass making. However, those ingredients are used depending on what type of product you are making out of the glass. For example, if you want to make a durable glass, then you need to add some ingredients that will enhance the durability.